CTIA MAY RETHINK TOUGH STANCE ON SPECTRUM AUCTION 58
CTIA must decide this week how much to fight a Wireless Bureau decision to allow only designated entities (DEs) to bid for most licenses when Auction 58 takes place next year. Putting together an association position is proving more difficult than expected, and the group is under pressure to draft a more muted response, we have learned.
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Some small carrier members have protested taking a tough stance since they could benefit from the DE rules. The CTIA is weighing those concerns and seeking middle ground, carrier sources said. Comments are due Thurs. on a June public notice laying out rules for Auction 58, which are modeled on Auction 35’s (CD June 22 p3).
CTIA spokesman John Walls confirmed Fri. that CTIA was still developing a position on the pending auction. “We haven’t formalized what our filing will be or exactly the stance the assn. will take. We certainly will have something by the deadline,” Walls said.
Some members were concerned after Pres. Steve Largent suggested the DE set-aside was a “dumb provision” that should be overturned (CD June 23 p. 6), a lobbyist representing a small carrier CTIA member said Fri. “There are legitimate DEs,” the carrier said. “There are DEs that want to keep the large carriers out.”
DE sector representatives plan to make a case for maintaining a strong set-aside, a DE official said. “The DE community is not as well organized as the national carriers,” he said. “We've had good expressions of interests and support from quite a few DEs. People are very interested, but since this has come up so quickly the DE community is not as aware of it as if they had had more time.”
Under the proposed rules -- based on Auction 35, the FCC’s original auction to sell the former NextWave licenses - - in markets larger than 2.5 million, 20 MHz of spectrum are to be offered all bidders and 10 MHz just to DEs. This ratio flips for markets below 2.5 million. Some carriers hope FCC will decide at least to reduce the thresholds, opening more licenses for sale to all carriers. - Howard Buskirk